Gwadar airport, expressway projects to be launched this year

Ahsan optimistic about CPEC progress

ISLAMABAD: China’s State Council is in the process of approving grants for the Gwadar International Airport and Gwadar Expressway projects and ground breaking of these two projects would be performed this year.

“Gwadar is the gateway of the CPEC, and the ground-breaking ceremony of its two projects — Gwadar International Airport and Gwadar Expressway would be performed this year while Gwadar University would also become operational from September this year,” Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said here on Monday.

The minister said that Gwadar city would not just be a port city but would also become the hub of socio-economic activities for the local people. He said that the CPEC would help upgrade the local fishing and ship building industries so that the people of Gwadar could get maximum benefit from this project for better livelihood.

Ahsan Iqbal expressed these views while meeting with a delegation of the Gwadar Press Club in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms. The minister said over $1.6 billion would be invested under early harvest projects including modern airport, motorways, water, power, health, education and related projects . He said that under the CPEC not only the Gwadar Seaport, International Airport, Expressway would be developed but also hospital and technical & vocational training institutes would be constructed in the port city.

He said that Gwadar would be connected to other parts of the country by end of this year as work on the western route —Gwadar to Quetta Road and Gwadar-Khuzdar-Ratodero section is being completed on fast track. The D.I Khan to Burhan Section would get completed by June 2018, he added .

Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said CPEC would benefit all the provinces especially the most-backward areas of the country. He said that Sindh and Balochistan will be the largest beneficiaries in energy component of CPEC, as out of total £35 billion, $11.5 billion would be invested in Sindh, and $9.1 billion in Balochistan.

He said that the 20th century had belonged to political ideologies but today is the era of political economy, economic stability and inclusive growth. While highlighting the Vision 2025, he said that the fist pillar of the vision is regional connectivity and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would benefit three billion people of the region through enhanced regional connectivity.

He said that CPEC is a 15-year-long project to be completed in 2030 with special focus on infrastructure development, Gwadar Port, energy and phases by economic zones. He said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to China in 2013 and it has been converted into $46 billion investment within a short period of one year. He said that CPEC is a fusion of Vision-2025 of Pakistan and China’s “One Road-One Belt” for future growth and development. He added that Orange Train project was not part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as this project was funded by Punjab government.

He said that administrative work on CPEC is the responsibility of Ministry of Planning with the help of other ministries and departments while the Pakistan Army is responsible for providing security. The minister further informed the delegation that on instructions from the PM to the army chief, 9,000 army men were being deployed in the security force for CPEC projects. Both civil and military departments are playing their role satisfactorily and in complete harmony.Ahsan Iqbal also mentioned that Federal Government would help in establishing  Gawadar Press Club building for the journalists at Gwadar.